Protect the Tassajara Valley–Stop the “New Farm” subdivision

For more than 20 years, residents across Contra Costa County have benefited from voter-approved Urban Limit Lines, which protect precious open space lands from major development. Now land speculators Tom Koch and Samir Kawar are pushing for our county Board of Supervisors to approve a 187-unit subdivision they’re calling “New Farm” outside those lines in the Tassajara Valley. If they’re successful, they’ll open the floodgates for developers to pave over protected lands throughout the county.

This fake “farm” has numerous problems. It would:

put undue stress on the limited water resources that residents throughout the county need, especially in drought years, placing our families and our farmers at risk;

violate laws against sprawl development that Contra Costa county voters have repeatedly upheld; these laws can only be changed by voter approval;

extend expensive municipal services to an area where voters have expressly prohibited it;

destroy valuable farmland and sensitive wildlife habitat;

increase traffic on San Ramon’s overcrowded roads and I-580 and 680, with over 1,700 car trips each day.

A recent legal review conducted by Shute, Mihaly & Weinberger LLP, one of the most respected land-use law firms in California, shows that approval of the “New Farm” project would violate numerous local laws and policies.

The review finds that this 187-unit subdivision, on agricultural and ranching land entirely outside the county’s Urban Limit Line, is clearly an “urban” project in violation of voter-approved policies. It would illegally subdivide important farmland to create 30 times more parcels than allowed, at 25 times the allowed density. It would require urban services outside the Urban Limit Line and generate urban levels of traffic. All of these factors would increase land speculation and undermine our agricultural economy.